Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Pa-Ord Noodle #3- Los Angeles (Thai Town), CA

After visiting
Bhan Kanom Thai, we decided to follow along with dinner at Pa-Ord Noodle, which has been famous for its noodle soups.

Inside Pa-Ord Noodle was a homey atmosphere, with a small marketplace of imported and locally made snacks and desserts, several warming stations with food, and festive Thai decorations. The staff were extremely friendly, smiling happily and welcoming to offer suggestions and advice on the menu.

We began with a Thai Iced Tea (2.50 USD, extra charge for no ice), which was quite fantastic and flavor-packed. It was both very creamy and extremely concentrated in terms of tea flavor.

Given that Pa-Ord Noodle is famous for noodle soups, we began with the Tom Yum Noodle Soup (6 USD) with vermicelli, barbeque pork, pork liver, pork ball, ground pork, fish cake, dried shrimp, fried garlic, scallion, and bean sprouts. With the cold weather, this was extremely comforting and delicious--hot, slightly spicy and acidic, and clean on the palate.

The Boat Noodles (6 USD), which we had with thin rice noodles, on the other hand, was rich and very meaty. Composed of a fragrant meat broth thickened with pork blood, and topped with crispy pork rinds, pork slices, pork balls, scallions, and fried garlic, this was deep in flavor, quite spicy, and very satisfying. Do watch the heat on this though!

The Pad See-Ew (7 USD) was likewise another very competent rendition. Everything involved--the scrambled egg, chinese broccoli, wide flat noodle, and meat--were redolent of wok flavor, high heat searing, and meshed together with the black soy sauce. Very nicely done.

As to the Crispy Pork with Chinese Broccoli, Pa-Ord's version was quite intriguing. Here, the crispy pork belly wasn't only hard and crisp on the exterior--when you bit in, it melted in the mouth, and was extremely easy to chew--soft and tender. The chinese broccoli, meanwhile, was crisp and sweet, seasoned with the dark, garlicy soy sauce. This was quite unique and tasty--there may have been a bit too much sauce, so we wished we had ordered a side of rice to go along with it.

(a mock up of the food display, next to the actual food display)

Overall, a great meal at Pa-Ord Noodle. It is no question why their name includes the term "noodles"--all noodles, whether they be noodle soups or stir fried noodles, are expertly created, and the food overall is well-done. Now, time to also visit Sapp Coffee Shop.